English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology

Etymology — The Origins of English Words

Where do words come from? Trace the origin and history of any English word, from its Latin, Greek or Old English roots through to its modern meaning. Every etymology is sourced.

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From Latin repressus, the past participle of reprimere, "to press back" — from re- plus premere ("to press").

From Old French representer, from Latin repraesentare, "to present again or bring before" — from re- plus praesentare ("to present").

From Latin repetitus plus the adjective suffix -ive.

From French répertoire, from Late Latin repertorium, "an inventory or list."

From re-, "again," plus paint.

From re- ("again") plus "name."

From re- + mind, in the sense "to remember" — first used in the 1600s.

From French remarquer, from re- ("again") + marquer ("to mark") — literally, to "mark again" by noticing something.

From Old French remanoir, from Latin remanere — re- ("back") + manere ("to stay").

From Old French relier ("to fasten, bind"), from Latin religare ("to bind fast") — the same root that gives us "rely" its sense of being "tied to" something for support.

A variant of release, originally meaning "taste" or "scent" in Middle English, ultimately from Latin relaxare.

From Old French relever, from Latin relevare, "to lift up, lighten" — from re- plus levare, "to lift."

From relevant plus the noun-forming suffix -ance.

From Anglo-Norman relentir, from Latin lentare, "to bend," related to lentus, "slow, pliant."

From Old French relaisser, itself from Latin relaxare, "to loosen or open again."

From re- ("again") plus Latin iuvenis ("young"), the same root behind juvenile.

From Late Latin reiterare, "to repeat," from re- ("again") plus iterare ("to repeat"), from iterum ("again").

From Anglo-Norman reherser, "to repeat word for word."

Borrowed from Middle French regularite, from Old French regularite, from Late Latin rēgulāritās, rēgulāritātem, from rēgulāris; see regular. By surface analysis, regular + -ity.

From Latin regressus, past participle of regredior, "to go back" (re- + gradior, "to step, go").

Formed from regard plus the suffix -less, meaning "without regard."

From re- plus fine, in the sense "to make fine or pure."

From Old French referer ("to relate, refer"), from Latin referre — literally, the person to whom a decision is "referred."

From Old English gerefa ("official, officer"), a word that mostly died out in England once "bailiff" took over, though it survives in Canadian local government.